Sudan promises to disarm Arab militias

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Sudanese refugees gather on a hillside at camp Iridimi to watch the arrival of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He was flown in by helicopter during his visit to the region.Picture:AP

The Sudanese Government has promised to send troops to the western region of Darfur to disarm Arab militias and end violence that has displaced more than a million African villagers.

In a weekend statement issued jointly with the United Nations, the Government said it was committed to immediately start disarming the Arab militias, which are accused of killings, rapes and beatings that have driven the villagers, who view themselves as African, from their homes. Aid groups and witnesses said the Government armed the militias and bombed villages. Officials have denied this.

The communique was signed at the airport in Khartoum moments before UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan left the country after a two-day tour of refugee camps in Darfur and neighbouring Chad, where more than 150,000 refugees live in tent cities that dot the harsh desert terrain.

Sudanese officials promised to deploy a "strong, credible" police force to protect the camps and other areas vulnerable to attacks, the communique said.

Officials also promised to develop a system that would allow women who have been raped during the crisis to bring charges against alleged assailants. Sexual violence against women in Darfur emerged as a major concern during Mr Annan's visit, his aides said.

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On Friday, Mr Annan visited the crowded Iridimi camp in Chad, a maze of stick and straw shelters housing 15,000 Sudanese refugees, 70 kilometres west of the border with Sudan. Refugees at the sand-blown camp formed a giant circle as they awaited his arrival. Some held up signs calling for the disarmament of the militias and the restoration of security.

On Friday night, after meeting Sudan's President, Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan Bashir, Mr Annan told reporters that the violence must stop, and that when a ceasefire was arranged it must be respected by all.